What I Hear

On this autumn morning
Canada geese squawk
in advancing formation

neighborhood birds
perhaps wren and nuthatch
exchange conversation

single red squirrel
dominates
with clucking chatter

commuter traffic
lumbering school bus
announce mechanical noise

quiet intersperses
quite harmoniously
if carefully listened for.

Fall Foliage #13

Prayer flags unfurled
in flutter abundance
across color-rich hillsides

strung along flimsy limbs
of maple, birch and aspen
streaming cheerily in the wind

extending invitation
with magnetic attraction
for autumnal communion

restorative moments
for filling up the soul
with necessary nourishment.

Fall Foliage #14

Post-peak foliage in falling mode
stirred up in colorful flurries

unsettled in swirling heaps
drifting into carpet layers

romp-ready for kicking feet
fall's relics crunched beneath

last salute to season's drama
curtain descends until green again.

Dancing Duo

Yellow leaves all a-quiver
shimmying tremulously
within gentlest zephyr

twisting, spinning
right then eager left
catching sunlit glints

trembling aspen
like its quaking namesake
sashaying with the wind.

Smiley Face

A ten-thousand-watt smile
with crinkly eye appeal
seizes surrounding affections

a gobbling-up grin
chews and munches hearts
into more adoring pieces

a gleeful giggle-machine
incites contagion
of spontaneous joy

his merry-go-round
sweetly flings out
hugs and big, wet kisses

a happy face embraces
gilding for golden instant
our quotidian stage.